Chapter Nine - A Little Closer
"Nineteen weeks," Nick stated his daughter's age to the second curious woman at the grocery store. He was used to the attention she brought now, but it wasn't exactly welcomed. He had been staying with Greg for the past four weeks now and things were still slow and slightly awkward. The last thing he wanted was female attention to add to the confusion of his life. "She was premature, that's why she's so small."
"She's beautiful." The woman leant a little closer, looking at the beautiful little girl asleep in the carrier on his shopping cart. "What's her name?"
"Sadie." He got a funny look from the first woman, but this one seemed to like the name. "I named her after my grandmother."
"I think it's a beautiful name. A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl. She's gonna get spoiled by you." She grinned at the man in front of her.
A smile that used to give him a clear sign that she was interested in him, but he had no interest in living the lie any longer. He found a polite way to put her off any further interest in him, so he could return to his shopping trip. He was only halfway through his list and his daughter was due her next bottle any minute now. She seemed content at the moment, but he didn't want to take any chances and wait for the meltdown.
He took what he had to the checkout, biting his bottom lip as Sadie started to fuss. She wouldn't take her pacifier and her cries only got louder as he packed away the groceries. He quickly pulled his wallet out to pay for it, avoiding the looks the other customers were giving him as he made his way out of the store.
When he reached his truck outside, he realised the reason why she had been so upset. Her diaper had completely exploded up her back, causing an obvious discomfort. He had to stay put in the parking lot for a while longer, completely changing his daughter out of her messy clothes, before he tried to clean the carrier with nothing but a few baby wipes.
"Thanks for that one, baby girl." He smiled at her, lifting her back into her clean carrier. "Oh you're gonna go to sleep now are you. Don't let me disturb you." He loaded her back into the car, making his way back to Greg's apartment. He thought the horrible day was finally over, but one of his grocery bags split on the stairs, sending the baby formula and diapers rolling down the stairs behind him.
Nick gave out a sigh of relief once he was inside, crashing against the sofa with his daughter and her bottle, feeling completely exhausted. He barely slept a wink last night. Greg was out all night on shift, so it was just him and the constant cries of his little girl. He was out of the house before Greg got home for a doctor's appointment with Sadie's paediatrician, followed by a lunch date with his sister to meet his daughter for the first time and then the dreaded shopping trip that took much longer than expected.
About five minutes into Sadie's bottle feed, Greg's landline started to ring. He generally ignored it as no one actually knew he was living here, letting the machine get it instead. After three long drawn out rings, the call went straight through to the robotic female voice of Greg's answer machine.
"Please leave your message after the tone."
"Hi Greg, it's Stuart. You know, your boyfriend." The man on the machine immediately caught Nick's attention. "I haven't heard from you since your Papa Olaf came out of hospital. I hope he's okay. Can you give me a call back? I'm worried about you. Okay... bye."
Nick tilted his head back against the sofa cushions, feeling his heart aching inside of his chest. He felt betrayed, angry even. Greg had lied to him. He had been sharing a bed with a man who had been sleeping around with someone else the whole time.
Worst of all, he had trusted him. He let him kiss him. He had never put that kind of trust in someone before. To have it betrayed like that felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest.
He decided that this was exactly the motivation he needed to move on from Greg's apartment and find his own place, where he could properly raise his daughter. As soon as she was down for her nap, he started searching the local listings, finding one in the exact same building he was staying in right now. It would have been easier, but he didn't think he could bear to be that close to someone who had betrayed his trust.
An hour later, Nick had narrowed his choices down to three places that were in his price range. He was dying to get his things out of storage, so he chose the unfurnished open house to take a look at that afternoon. It wasn't as grand as the paper described and the second bedroom was practically a cupboard, but it was in a nice enough location.
"Mr Stokes," The realtor finally said goodbye to the couple she had been showing around, turning her attention towards the man holding his daughter by the window. "Have you had a chance to look around? Did you see the kitchen?" She motioned over her shoulder. "All new fittings. The carpets in here are only a few months old and the bathroom was refurbished about six months ago."
"Yeah." Nick nodded slightly, patting his daughter's back as she made soft grunting sounds against his shoulder. "There's no garden?"
"The garden is all out the front of the house. The previous owners laid the concrete for the driveway, but there's still some room for a garden out there."
The Texan turned away from her to examine the rest of the house, rolling his eyes as the front garden was right next to the busy main road. There was no way it would serve as a safe place for his daughter to play once she was a little older. It wasn't fenced in and the concrete drive took up most of the space. "I'm lookin' for more of a family home. And fast. I've gotta move out of my current livin' situation pretty quickly."
"I have plenty of full sized family homes available. What's your price range?"
"Somethin' along the lines of this." He confessed, watching the realtor sucking in a sharp breath through her clenched teeth. "I shoulda left when I had the chance, but I can't go back now." He didn't make much sense to her, but Texas was completely out of the question now. His parents were too mad at him to even answer the phone after he changed his plans and his feelings for Greg were too out in the open to hide anything from his father anymore.
Ditching his escape plan, Nick reluctantly returned to the betrayers apartment, hearing the shower running as he stepped inside. He set his daughter down in her crib, taking a seat on the edge of the bed to wait for Greg to finish up. The longer he waited, the more annoyed and wound up he started to get. He felt as though he was going to put his fist through a wall at one point, then he stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, water drops still running down his chest.
He was so gorgeous.
"Oh, hi." Greg greeted him with his familiar sunny smile. "I thought you were out."
"I was."
Greg sensed some hostility, but he needed to get his clothes off the bed beside him. He held the towel tightly in place, keeping his back out of the man's sight to grab the fresh clothes he had laid out for himself. "So eh... how was your day?" He made awkward small talk, stepping backwards with his clothes in his arms.
"Rubbish." Nick leant back on his hands, feeling his emotions running wild as he looked Greg up and down. "Yours?"
"I drew the short straw with Sara. I had to trudge through a drainage vent thing to search for our vic's missing jewellery." He backed up towards the bathroom door, unable to hold his tongue any longer. "Did I do something? I haven't seen you awake in nearly two days now, so it can't have been something that I said."
"You got a message, on your machine." He pointed over to it.
"I did?" Greg had walked straight past it on his way in, so he didn't even notice. He feared it was some embarrassing message that his mother had left, but she always rang his cell now and by the expression on Nick's face, it was a lot more serious than something his mother could come up with. "Who from?" He knew he probably shouldn't ask, but he just couldn't stop himself.
"Your boyfriend... Stuart. When exactly were you goin' to tell me that you sleepin' around with some guy?" He gave him an accusing look. "You never told me that you were involved with someone."
"Did he say that? Because he's lying if he did. I haven't slept with him in months. I broke up with him... last year."
"He knows that your Papa Olaf is out of hospital. That was two weeks ago. I've been here for four weeks." The Texan put all the evidence together for him, catching the younger man gulping as he took a step towards him.
"I'm not lying about this, Nick. You have to believe me. I haven't slept with him since last year. He was... is my ex boyfriend. He cheated on me, so I broke up with him. I called him when I needed somebody to talk to with all this stuff going on with my Papa Olaf, when you and I weren't exactly talking, but we haven't been physical since... last year." Greg desperately tried to explain to him. He ditched the pile of clothes in his arms on the floor, holding the towel in place as he sat beside Nick on the bed. "We're not dating anymore though."
"Why would he think that you were then?" Nick turned his head to the side to look at him.
"Because... that's what he does. Nothing would convince me to take him back, so he has to lie about it. He lied to me all the time. He was sleeping around behind my back for months before I even found out. He's an asshole, but he was always a good listener. He was my friend long before we ever dated. I knew what he was like then, but I liked him. I've only been in touch with him since Papa Olaf went into hospital. We just talk." He looked the man in the eyes as he said it, slowly reaching out for the man's hand on the bed. "I swear, nothing has happened between us in months. I don't even talk to him in person. It's only over the phone."
"You talk to him? Only talk." Nick found that hard to believe as any guy would be lucky to be that close to Greg. "Why can't you talk to me? Is this still about the friend thing? You still don't want to be my friend because you have feelin's for me?"
"You have enough going on lately." He pointed towards the crib beside the bed. "You don't need my drama added to that. If I could get rid of him. I would. Stuart's the kinda guy who doesn't understand the word no. It took me long enough to get him out of my life the first time, now he's back and he thinks I just need time to get used to the idea. I just needed somebody to talk to and I stupidly picked him. He doesn't mean anything to me now. I swear. And you already 'are' my friend. I can't just cut that part of our relationship out."
"I'm not the jealous boyfriend type. But hearin' that message really hurt."
"Boyfriend?" Greg picked up on the word he used. "You consider yourself my boyfriend?"
Nick let a slight smile spread across his lips as he gave him a nod. "What would you call it? I've been sleepin' beside you for the past four weeks. Sharin' your apartment. Kissin' you. Call me old fashioned, but I consider that some kind of commitment to each other. I can't do all those other things that you do with him, but I'm tryin'."
"I don't do anything with him." Greg tried to assure him again. "Besides talk. I can pull my phone records if you want. You can see the four or five minute phone conversations we have maybe once a week in black and white, if that makes you believe me. You and I have longer conversations than that over breakfast. Besides, when would I have the time to cheat on you?"
"Not helpin' your case, G."
"I'm serious. When I'm not in the apartment with you, I'm at the lab working. You know where I am twenty four seven. I wouldn't have any time to do something with another man."
"How long did you date him?" He lifted his eyes to look into Greg's once again. He was hoping to catch him out on a lie, giving him a reason to move out.
"About... a year. Last year. We broke up a few times before, so it wasn't a whole year. He was really possessive and got annoying, but he always managed to charm his way back. After I caught him with someone else in the act though, that was it. I don't even have feelings for him anymore. Except for a seething hatred, I guess."
"I hate this." Nick suddenly pulled away from him, climbing off the bed. "I can't even stay mad at you anymore. You lied to me. You've been hidin' this huge thing from me, but I can't... all I can think about is kissin' you and you lookin' like that isn't helpin'." He tried to look away from the water droplets running down his chest, but it was too much to bear.
"Maybe that's a good thing." Greg tried to suppress his grin. "It must mean you like me and you trust me or you'd still be mad at me. You can trust me, you know." He assured him, extending his hand out to the older man. He waited for him to take it, before he gently pulled him back to the bed to sit him down beside him. "I would never purposely do anything to jeopardise our relationship. You have no idea how long I've waited to be this close to you." He brushed his thumb across his partner's hand, looking into his eyes. "I wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt you. I want to protect your heart, not break it."
Nick smiled back at him, bravely putting his arm around the younger man's body. He leant forwards to capture his lips for a kiss, sliding his hand round to the small of his partner's slippery back. He held him close as he took control of the kiss, feeling brave enough to take their relationship one step further. He slid his arm further around Greg's back, sliding him further towards the middle of the bed.
"Ah... my leg." Greg squirmed to free his trapped leg, smiling against the older man's lips. "Don't worry about it."
"Sorry, I usually..." Nick moved his legs to straddle the younger man's hips, realising how different things were already. He tried not to let it get to him, but after a while, it started to feel unnatural. "I can't..." He pulled back from his lips. "Can you move your legs?" He climbed off him, motioning for Greg to separate his legs. "I can't do it the other way. It feels weird."
"That's fine." The younger man loosened the towel around his waist, spreading his legs so his partner could resume his role as the dominant top. He grasped the man's belt buckle to pull him closer, letting him take control from there. He still wanted to do a million things to the gorgeous body on top of him, but he promised that he would go at his pace. Even if it was painfully slow, he suspected that Nick was well worth the wait.
A moment later, he felt the older man's hand sliding up his thigh. He didn't quite make it all the way up, but he pulled his thigh tightly against his own hip, grinding their hips together for the first time. The belt buckle between them pinched a little, but he wasn't about to complain. He could practically feel him completely for the first time and nothing could take that away from him.
Except... the crying baby.
Greg refused to let him go at first, pulling him in for another kiss, before the man pulled away to check on his daughter. He scooped her out to change her diaper, getting her changed as quickly as he could, leaving the younger man patiently waiting on the bed the whole time.
"I hope you washed your hands." Greg grinned up at him, feeling his heart racing as the older man returned to his position between his thighs.
"I did." He rested on his hands either side of Greg's head, looking down into his eyes. "I almost moved out today." He confessed, seeing the surprise in his eyes. "I thought you were cheatin' on me, before we had even been... together. I took a look around this horrible little house with Sadie. She didn't seem too fussed about it, but it was smaller than this place."
"What made you change your mind?"
"You." He lowered himself to his elbows, bringing their mouths closer together for a brief kiss. "I suddenly couldn't bear the thought of bein' away from you. I thought that this arrangement we have would be really awkward and end up drivin' us apart, but I'm fallin' for you." He pressed his lips to Greg's, breathing in his delicious scent. "I can still look for a place if you've had enough of us."
"No, I love having you here. Both of you. You can stay as long as you like." He tilted his head back as the older man kissed him again, feeling the full weight of his body as he finally relaxed on top of him. "So far, the whole boyfriend, roommate experience has been pretty good. You don't take too much time in the bathroom, you always clean up after yourself in the kitchen and you make the bed every morning, do my laundry at the same time as yours." He playfully bit the older man's bottom lip, pulling him in for a kiss. "I could definitely get used to this."
"Me too." Nick nervously circled his fingertip across the younger man's bare shoulder. "I think we should go on a date."
"A date?" He shivered as Nick's finger traced a path down his arm. "Me and you, in public."
"You don't think I'm ready? I haven't had a... thing in almost three weeks now."
"By a thing, I assume you mean a panic attack. We haven't done anything to bring one on." Greg pointed out to him, wondering why he was trying to dissuade the man from actually dating him. "This is the closest we've been in... since we started dating... or living together anyway. I don't want to scare you off by going out in public too soon. You're okay when it's just us."
"I think we can handle dinner or somethin'. I just," Nick paused a moment, looking into the younger man's eyes. "I don't want to sleep with you before we've been on a date. I've had more one night stands than I can remember. I don't want what I have with you to end how they ended. We don't have to go public... I just want to go on a date with you. I can't sleep with you until I've wined and dined you. My Mama taught me manners. She taught me how to cook too, if you dare to try my food." He smiled against his lips, feeling comfortable enough to move his hand towards his bed mate's hip. "I can pretty much make you anythin' you want. I can't do anythin' fancy though."
"A boyfriend who cooks. Mom would be proud." Greg smirked, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops of Nick's jeans. "I eat anything, so I'd be happy whatever you serve me. I don't think I've ever had anyone cook for me, besides family."
"I can cook for you. Every day if you want. Stop you eatin' those disturbin' lookin' microwave meals."
"They taste better than they look."
"I doubt that." He chuckled softly, brushing his nose against the side of Greg's, before he pulled him in for another kiss. It felt completely natural to kiss him now. It still gave him butterflies, but it felt like more of a happy feeling then one of nervousness. He pulled back slightly to look into his eyes, whispering, "So, is that a yes?"
"Okay." Greg smiled up at him.
"Good. How about tomorrow night? I'll cook you dinner. Catherine said she'd be willin' to babysit for me whenever, so I can leave Sadie with her for a few hours. We'll be alone that way with no interruptions." He felt bubbles of excitement stirring in his stomach. "Okay, tomorrow night. It's a date." He sealed a quick to his partner's lips. "I should get Sadie's bottle ready. Are you ever gonna put some clothes on?"
"I thought you like looking at me like this?" Greg teased, capturing the older man's lips for one final kiss. He was relieved that Nick didn't have a panic attack once during their time together, but it was still a little disappointing that it was over so soon.
Thank you for reading! Please review.
~ Holly
